Pearl Academy

Pearl Academy

Former names	Pearl Academy of Fashion
Established	1993
Academic staff	170+
Students	approx. 2200
Location	New Delhi, India
Campus	Delhi, Jaipur, Noida, Mumbai
Website	http://www.pearlacademy.com

Pearl Academy (formerly Pearl Academy of Fashion) is a private higher education institute in India, offering undergraduate, postgraduate and diploma courses in design, fashion and business.

It has been ranked Number 1 Design School (East India), and Number 2 Fashion School (All India) in the 2014 Edutainment Awards.^[1] For academics it has been ranked by Hindustan Times as Number 1 institute in India for 'Pedagogic Procedures and Processes' (2010) and Number 1 in 'Competence of Faculty' (2009).

History

Pearl Academy of Fashion was set up in 1993 by the Little People Education Society and registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860. The academy was initially promoted by House of Pearl Fashions Ltd, an Indian export house.

Starting with a campus in Okhla in South Delhi, the academy later moved to a larger campus in Naraina, in the West of the city.

In 1995 a collaboration with Nottingham Trent University (UK) began, and NTU became the validating body for Pearl courses.

Expansion saw new campuses being added in Jaipur (2005) and Chennai (2006).^[2] The Jaipur centre moved to a new custom design-and-build campus in 2008, after which a new campus in Noida opened in 2012. A new centre in Mumbai has been announced, with the first batch being admitted in August 2014.

In 2011 Pearl entered into a long term partnership with Laureate International Universities, and it is now part of the LIU global network which includes more than 80 institutions around the world.^[3]

In 2012 the institute's name was changed to Pearl Academy, in recognition of the growing number of courses in design and business.

The academy now has over 2200 students, more than 100 full-time faculty, and around 70 part-time faculty.^[4] A large number of guest faculty are also actively involved in teaching and serving on juries for assessment of projects.

Campuses

As of April 2014 the institution has five campuses in India: Pearl Academy Delhi, the academy's oldest campus, located at Naraina; Pearl Academy Jaipur, located at Kukas; Pearl Academy Chennai, located at Nungambakkam; Pearl Academy Noida, in Sector 59; and the newest campus in Mumbai located in Andheri.

The new Jaipur campus was designed by architects Morphogenesis and completed in 2008.^[5] The design uses traditional cooling methods found in the desert environment of Rajasthan, such as a step-well in the centre and the use of Jali-inspired structures.^[6] It won the award for 'Best Learning Building' at the World Architecture Festival awards held in Barcelona, Spain in 2009.^[7]

In November 2013 the academy announced that it would be opening a site in Mumbai in 2014.^[8] The new campus was officially launched on 16 April 2014 by CEO Sharad Mehra with Sussanne Khan Roshan, noted Interior Designer and founder of design studio 'The Charcoal Project', who announced her support for students of the academy by way of Scholarships.^[9]

Academics

The Academy has the following departments: Foundation Design; Foundation Business; Fashion Design; Textile Design; Business; Interior Architecture and Design; Communication Design.

Qualifications offered include BA (Hons), MA, Diploma, Postgraduate Diploma, and Professional Diploma.

Apart from the flagship BA (Hons) in Fashion Design, notable courses include Interior Product Design and Luxury Brand Management, both among the first in India for these subjects.

The most popular courses by number of students are BA Fashion Design, BA Interior Architecture & Design, and BA Communication Design.

BA (Honours) courses

BA Fashion Design
BA Fashion Styling and Image Design
BA Fashion Media Communication
BA Communication Design (choice of 4 'pathways': Graphic Design & Advertising; Experience Design; Interactive Media Design; Film & Animation)
BA Interior Architecture & Design
BA Interior Product Design
BA Fashion Business Management
BA Fashion Marketing and Retail Management
BA Branding and Advertising Management
BA Luxury Brand Management
BA Jewellery Design

MA courses

MA Design - Fashion & Textiles
MA Fashion Marketing

PG Diploma courses

PGD Fashion Design
PGD Fashion Merchandising
PGD Fashion Retail
PGD Fashion Marketing
PGD Fashion Promotion & Events
PGD Interior Design & Styling
PGD Motion Graphics Design

Professional Diploma courses

Professional Diploma in Luxury Brand Management (with NABA, Italy)
Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing and Internet Retail

Diploma courses

Professional Photography (with BTK, Berlin, Germany)
Styling for Interiors
Fashion Media Makeup
Fashion Women's Wear

Accreditation

Degree programmes are accredited by Nottingham Trent University (UK), under the supervision of the QAA, The British Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. Some postgraduate programmes are accredited by the Textile Institute, Manchester, UK.

All full-time faculty are expected to have a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE) or equivalent qualification, and many of them study for this as part of their faculty development programme while teaching at the academy.

The academy is certified ISO 9001:2008 for its quality management systems.

International Partners

Pearl Academy has partnered with over 20 international institutes^[10] for exchanges of students and faculty, including Domus and NABA in Milan, Italy; BTK in Berlin, Germany; Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Northumbria University, Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, and Ravensbourne College in the UK; Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles, USA; Bunka University, Tokyo, Japan; and Donghua University, China.

As part of the Laureate International Universities network, Pearl Academy is one of Laureate’s Centers of Excellence in Art, Architecture and Design,^[11] a network which also includes Media Design School, New Zealand; Santa Fe University of Art and Design in New Mexico, USA; NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego, USA; Universidade Anhembi Morumbi in Brazil; Universidad del Valle de México; as well as Domus Academy and NABA in Milan, Italy.

Pearl Academy has been admitted as a full member^[12] of Cumulus, the International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and Media. It is only the fourth Indian college to be given Cumulus membership.

International collaborations take the form of student and faculty exchanges, guest workshops, and joint research projects.^[10]

Student life

Plan Clan Student activities are managed by a student body called Plan Clan, which consists of student volunteers and nominees, who are guided by faculty members. The students enrol themselves in any of the following: • Cultural Club • Dramatics and Literary Club • Music and Performing arts Club • Movie Club • Adventure and Sports Club

Portfolio Each year, the students of fashion design showcase their final collections at a public ramp event called “Portfolio”. At this event, counted proudly among all prestigious fashion events, dignitaries from government and business, and families of students form the audience. Fashion Designers and media spot budding talent. Television Channels interview the achievers who are conferred the following awards: • Most innovative collection • Most wearable collection • Most Avant-garde collection • Best design collection • Special jury award

Fabric Folio The Tex-Styles Fair is an annual event organized by the International Trade Promotion Organisation of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry to showcase Indian textiles to the world. It is attended by 3000 buyers from across the globe. The Academy sets up each year, at the invitation of ITPO, a pavilion – “Fabric Folio” to showcase hundreds of samples of innovative fabrics collected from industry all over India by the textile design students.

Pearl Utsav “Pearl Utsav” is an event organized annually by students to serve as a platform for demonstrating talent in music, drama, dance and other performing arts.

Synthesis At this forum, students pursuing business courses are gibven a platform to present their final research projects to the business community in a professional setting. Recipients of “Innovative Research Award”, “Outstanding Research Award”, and “Practical Research Award” make formal presentations and address queries raised by industry members. All students have a chance to exhibit their work as posters and to interact with industry visitors. The export and domestic fashion sectors view “Synthesis” as an opportunity to tap talent for their organizations

Thread Works Thread Works is an exhibition of the Textile Design final year student projects which is visited by textile designers representing the home fashion and textile industry.

Open Works This is an exhibition of the graduating students of BA (Hons) Communication Design, including specialisations in Experience Design, New Media, Advertising & Graphic Design, and Moving Graphics & Animation.

Foundation Show The show is held twice a year on the academy’s premises.

Continuum Every two or three years, the academy organizes an international Conference – “Continuum”, inviting design professionals from all over the world to speak on current themes and topics. Continuum 06 was focused on “Global Fashion Leadership: Evolving Directions and Future Perspectives”, with 12 overseas speakers out of 18 in the programme.

Rankings and Reputation

At the 2014 Edutainment Show^[1] Awards for Education in Design, Media and Communication, Pearl Academy was awarded as follows:

Best Design School (North India) 2014 - Pearl Academy New Delhi
2nd Best Fashion School (All India) 2014 - Pearl Academy New Delhi

The academy has been ranked No. 1 institute in India for 'Pedagogic Procedures and Processes' (Hindustan Times, 2010) and No 1 in 'Competence of Faculty' (Hindustan Times, 2009). It was also ranked number three (perceptual rank: 3, factual rank: 2) in the list of colleges offering fashion-related courses in India (India Today/Nielsen 2013^[13]).

In 2008, Mint, ranked Pearl Academy in the top 10 schools of fashion in India. Pearl Academy was placed above four of the National Institute of fashion Technology centers.

In 2007, the Outlook and Cfore conducted a survey to rank the top 10 fashion technology institute in India. The survey results show that Pearl Academy is the top private institute offering education in fashion technology. The survey placed Pearl Academy above two of the very prominent National Institute of Fashion Technology centers.

In 2003, Hindustan Times ranked Pearl Academy as the best fashion school. The newspaper gave the Academy seven stars and placed it as the top college for fashion in India.

References

External links

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